...Aqeela...

How im feeling...

2012-02-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

Ive kept a low profile here for a couple of days as Ive been tired and lethargic due to 2012 insomnia. Literally from January the first and still going strong, every single night i have not slept before midnight, usually falling asleep between 1 and 2 AM, then up with D from 6.30AM onwards. I'm not stressed or unwell, just so full of emotion, hope and excitement for what 2012 may bring us.

It started when i wrote up my 'recap of 2011' post. I was overwhelmed at what amazing things i saw and did last year when it felt like it was a year of stress and sadness. Seeing my year in photos like that has completely boosted me, i feel like its actually changed my life. I know that may seem like a trite overstatement to some, but honestly, seeing my blessings recorded like that i feel so thankful and loved. How fortunate we are and how little our problems seem. For that moment of realisation alone this blog has been totally worth all of my time and effort.

Its not only that though. Insha'Allah this will be the year for 3 more big changes. I'm sooooo desperate to get a little bit of decorating done and i can see a few things getting accomplished this year. Decorating is trivial but is just one of my joys in life. I'm saving up so that i don't have to ask my hub, and when im done saving im just going to go for it. Definitely D's bedroom, wallpaper on a couple of walls in our bedroom, and il paint the exterior front wall of the house, just the bottom half which is currently a depressing 70s shade of sand. Other projects will be started if i can keep filling up my purse selling at loved-before.

Secondly, D will be starting preschool in September insha'Allah so for 15 hours a week i will be at home alone and can do all that stuff that's been on my to-do list for years - sewing, sorting, and reading. Just being in a silent home during daylight hours, something i took for granted before i became a mother.

Finally, with the will of God, if he has granted it for us, we will be starting infertility treatment again this year, perhaps with a new baby in the house by the end of the year. For sure that is a huge excitement, and im feeling hopeful about treatment this time around.

Today i have had such a full and happy day, about to be ended with a pile of ironing and a hot shower and i feel like i may just manage to fall asleep as soon as i lay down in my bed, insha'Allah before midnight.

This morning we spent three and a half hours with friends at GoKidsGo which is an indoor play area for kids (and adults!) to go nuts and wizz down huge slides, loose all femininity crawling through gaps and immodestly squeeze through rollers or crawl in narrow spaces. I love adventure so don't mind being a bit of a plonker for a few hours with D full of laughter and smiles.

This evening me and my hubby took D out for his first restaurant meal and his first steak. Alhamdulillah he was very well behaved and we all really enjoyed the food and family time. I love that he is older and more grown up now, it has opened up a world of opportunities for us and i imagine that this year will hold many 'firsts' memories - trains, cinema and theatre visits comes to mind.

After that we went to a sweet shop full from floor to ceiling with all halal pick and mix, American, and South African sweets. (On Evington Road for all of my Leicester readers). D's whole face lit up (so did mine) and we came home with five pounds worth of childhood nostalgia.

It really has been an amazing day, just as the tiredness was beginning to take its toll on my mood. Life is sometimes slow, sometimes full, but always there are blessings.

All photos taken this Winter using Istagram on the iphone - please add me if you use instagram too. (notice_the_special_things)

Our jungle....

2012-01-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

Being out in the garden makes me really happy, its usually hard work, and I'm sometimes resistant to get out there, but once deeply engaged in whatever gardening task I'm undertaking, i enjoy it and am thankful.

Here's a few before and after shots of our 'jungle' - I'm not even half way through my project but its already looking like a garden again, alhamdulillah.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

The plan is to plant lots of ferns and shade loving climbers, and have a bench tucked under there behind a 'wall' of ivy and some trellis or bamboo for privacy. I'l probably use three rose arches to kind of fence it off from the rest of the garden. I want it to be a secluded private place where i can sit in dappled shade in high summer and remove my scarf and feel the breeze in my roots.

Do you have garden plans for this year?

Our current garden project...

2012-01-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

We spent this afternoon trying to turn our jungle into a secluded retreat under the trees. We're slowly getting there....

This is also what the inside of my head looks like some days, everything all over the place, chaotic and in need of a good de-clutter, with D there in the middle of everything, my permanent buddy. Alhamdulillah.

Marshmallow skies...

2012-01-25T15:29:00.000-08:00

We had a couple of hours of sunlight left yesterday when my husband came home from work, so me and D decided to jump into the car and visit the park. D was literally bouncing, squealing and giggling in excitement when we got out of the car and saw the spring bulbs forcing their shoots through the ground in front of us. He is so excited about Springtime marshAllah.

First we tried out all the equipment on the outdoor gym, an elderly couple were working out when we arrived, hugely inspiring!

We walked further down the path towards the play areas. Along the paths we picked rosehips and looked at spiky balls hanging from trees, which D thought looked like Christmas decorations.

At the play areas we both had a good climb and jump around, daring to go higher and faster.

We left the play areas and followed the path between banks of grass sprinkled with purple and yellow crocus flowers and white snowdrop drifts. We wanted to stay close to the car park so that we could return before dark, so we turned back on ourselves and took a dappled route beneath trees to follow the stream.

This brought us out onto one of the large fields and D requested that we hold hands and run. We did and it was fun, one of those happy moments that you wish someone else was filming so that we could be sure to not forget it.

Looking backwards we could see the sun low in the sky and orange and yellow behind it like a watercolour painting.

We walked to the next field and over a small bridge crossing the stream. Dogs said hello and D managed not to show his nerves. Behind us the sun continued to set slowly and change the atmosphere, and D said that the sky was pink like mummy... and marshmallows! :-)

Back down the path leading to the car the sky was still blue, not yet made special by the lowering sun back in the park. We smiled at the dog which looked like a polar bear and these white trunked trees caught my attention.

We were in the car and almost home by the time darkness had prevailed, and it was a wonderful end to another day, alhamdulillah, all praise is due to our Creator.

How to keep cut flowers fresher and for longer...

2012-01-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

I used to always have cut flowers in our house but my husbands hayfever was always set off a little so i had to stop. Also i think its so wasteful to cut flowers for aesthetic reasons when they last longer and have more benefits for ourselves and for nature if they are left on the plant and in the ground. Perhaps two or three times a year i will treat myself though for they do put a spring in my step. When i do have them, i want to keep them for as long as possible so i take good care of them, and generally get about three or four weeks out of them before they head to the compost bin.

Hubby bought me a bunch just before Christmas, on December 22nd, from Waitrose. I managed to keep them right up until today when they had finally met their end and went into the compost caddy. Thats 34 days of joy ive had from them! Here's how i kept them for so long....

It takes me about fifteen minutes to set my flowers up in the vase. Dont just unwrap the packaging and put them in a vase of water, job done. First of all use scissors to snip about an inch off every stem, with a diagnal cut. Then you need to plan how you want the flowers to look in the vase. I like them to have a curved shape, with taller stems at the back, shorter on the sides and front. So i decide which flowers i want in which place, bunch them up in the order and position i want, and stand them next to the vase to see how tall the bunch needs to be. Then i diagnally cut them (again) according to the length i need each stem to be. Now make sure there will be no leaves below the water line. Put the bunch in your vase, then add water after. Cold water, nothing else, no plant food. I add water about 5 inches up the stems. Then i try to keep them in a cool spot nowhere near a radiator.

My flowers on day 1...

Unfortunately i deleted the photo of the whole bunch in the glass mosaic vase but here you can see what flowers were in the bunch and how i arranged them with that curved shape.

A few of the green flowers had broken stems so rather than throw them away i used little glass egg cups full of water to create a miniature display.

By the 5th January (15 days in) some flowers were dead and others were browning or loosing their petals so i took the whole bunch out, removed the decayed flowers and re-bunched the rest. I did the diagonal snips again, about another inch up, removed any leaves which would now be in the water line, and put the flowers into a smaller vase with fresh cold water again. Its now that i added half the pack of plant food which came with the flowers.

Day 15...

A red rose was given to me (from D) and added to the vase.

Eight days later on the 13th Jan (day 23) i had to remove a few more stems and use a small pair of scissors to cut browned petals off some flowers which were otherwise still in good shape. Again i snipped another inch off the stems, removed leaves and put them in fresh cold water, in a smaller vase, with the rest of the plant food.

Day 23...

By the 22nd of Jan (32 days in) i was down to a very small bunch, stems snipped shorter, in a little glass mug. It was then that i found a bunch of tulips for £1.00 in Asda's reduced section. I cant believe they would reduce this perfectly good bunch of tulips!

Day 32...

Today was the last day i enjoyed them, now browned and too decayed to display. But im so happy to have had them for so long, ive seen them every day and been reminded of my husbands love and kindness.

Day 34...

And now on to the tulips!

Over at Real Simple there are a few posts on how to keep your cut flowers for longer, using listerine, aspirin, a penny, bleach etc... worth a read...

Den building...

2012-01-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

One thing which I absolutely loved about my childhood was the den building. My mum used to give us sheets and we would use them with the dining table and chairs to make a cosy tent for us to play in. I remember i used to put my quilt in there with blankets, pillows and cushions and all of my cuddly toys. I always loved that feeling of being cosy, secure and secluded. I still love it now. I had a friend over to sleep one time in my den, and i also used to play 'Post Office' and 'Schools' with my toys under there (and with my brother if he would join in - he's 4 years older.)

When our dog was in season we used to keep her outside in the garden. A few times i took blankets out into the shed and slept with her all night to keep her warm and just because i loved her so much. I also loved the adventure of it all. Me and D are going to sleep in a tent in the back garden this year i think. Im so excited!

Now i build dens with D and he loves them just as much as me. He goes around the house collecting up toys and putting them inside, and he likes to read books to himself in there too, with his homemade blanket on his legs. Today we built one upstairs on the landing and i let him have his quilt in there. It looked so cosy but i had to crack on with the ironing since I've let it pile up a little too high. I managed to do about three quarters of it, insha'Allah the rest will get done in a day or two.

I iron in our spare room with Radio 4 on and D normally jumps in and out of the old crib i keep our crumpled clothes in, or plays with toys in his bedroom or he spends an hour or so in and out of his den on the landing. And usually i get a very nice chunk of it done before he gets fed up!

Gifts...

2012-01-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

I have some really great friends who i have met through Facebook - even though i resisted signing up for an account for many years, i will say that it has on the most part been good for me. I now have friends in real life who i originally met online, and still some friends who i only know online but who have become good friends. One of those friends sent me a lovely message a week or so ago and asked if she could send me a little gift, just something which she thought i would like. When people offer something like this to me i feel so overwhelmed and gracious, it is such a beautiful thing. So kind and generous, and thoughtful. The postman handed my parcel to me today and i ripped it open to find an unusual wall plate and a pretty floral trinket box. D ran off with the trinket box and stuffed it with ripped paper and got so into his game that i didn't want to pinch it back for a photograph, although I'm sure it will feature here soon. I went to the tool box, got out a nail and hammer and hung my plate by the front door so that i can see it every day insha'Allah.

Its above a little thermometer which i bought for about a pound a year or two ago. They are totally different in style yet look right together when you see them in the hallway like that.

I stuck the little note from my friend to the back of the plate with a little slip of washi tape so that i can always remember her lovely gesture toward me. I'm just figuring out how to return the kindness, i have a couple of ideas but I'm still not sure.

I do miss gifts, since giving up Christmas and Birthdays (and i guess since getting older too) there are very few presents to unwrap. But that makes D's presents all the more special, i absolutely love seeing him rip the paper and feel the rush of joy as he see's whats inside!

Celeriac...

2012-01-20T03:46:00.000-08:00

Today I'm cooking this again for me and D, i haven't decided what we shall have with it yet though. Perhaps salmon or tuna, with vegetables. Of course we definitely wont be adding any bacon! Although i imagine it is nice with a little bit of sliced meat in it, even smoked salmon trimmings. If you haven't tried celeriac before then i would certainly say try it, its more delicious than it looks. It reminded me of sweet potato and parsnips. Both yum in my opinion.

Blog maintenance...

2012-01-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

I am making 2012 the year where i sort out a lot of things which Ive been meaning to do for years. My photo folders on the desktop are all over the place so I'm hoping to start deleting and streamlining. I also want to use my blog more as a place where i can backtrack my days and see what i was doing this time last month / year and find a specific blog post easily. Lots of sorting for this year!

I have added some new categories to my blog, you can find them all up there below my blog header. They are in order of how often i blog about them. The new categories are:

Festivals
Seaside
Churches
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Leicester (not a new category but one i have just added plenty more posts to)
Brock's Hill Country Park
Bradgate Country Park
Gorse Hill Farm
Hunstanton
Abbey Park
Abbey Pumping Station
Foxton Locks
Framework Knitters Museum
Leicester Botanic Garden

This tiny leaf in D's hand is one which he pulled up out of the ground as i was digging the new veg patch over. That's exactly how it looked when he showed it to me :-)

One day this Winter...

2012-01-19T13:34:00.000-08:00

This Winter has been so unusually warm. I think the past 7 or so days are the only ones where i have noticed frost outside, and every other day has just been cool rather than cold. There is only one day i can think of where we definitely needed our gloves. We haven't had red noses or chattering teeth, i haven't worried that D is too cold now that i cant bundle him up with blankets in the pushchair, and there certainly hasn't been any snow. I'm hoping that Winter proper is still to come, for i love this time of year but fear that we are running out of time for some good ice and snow and traditional Winter sparkle. The Winter of 2010 was most definitely cold and white and i just looked back at my blog posts from then and that is just what I'm longing for. (Here, here, and here.)

At the start of this month me and my mum took D to the city farm and then to the park after. The farm is small but its a nice way to spend an hour, or longer in the summer when you can sit and eat a picnic outside. The hens, turkeys and ducks can walk around the farm and are often scratching around the vegetable garden; at closing time they all follow one another in a line into their safe stable block for the night.

A couple of times I've spotted this stumpy magpie, I'm not sure if its a young bird or if it just has an unusual posture. It always seems to be with the goats, standing on watch whilst visitors pass by.

We sometimes buy pellets to feed to the goats and sheep and D isn't afraid of them at all, I'm always trying to boost his confidence and so far alhamdulillah he seems very self assured.

I love how this sheep (in the photo below) is looking at me whilst the others are watching D and some other children with their sheep pellets. You can see D's arm there, pushed through the fence trying to pet one of the sheep (and sprinkle its back with grass) whilst it sticks its muzzle through the wire.

We always visit the play area last whenever we go out as i like to keep the nature walks and animals the centre stage of our days out.

When we went to the park afterwards we first of all went to the large lake in the middle to feed the ducks, geese and gulls.

Then we walked across the old bridge which is built over the Grand Central Canal (the same canal that we visited last weekend) so that we could head to pets corner and give some vegetable scraps to the bunnies and guinea pigs.

We saw more birds at pets corner and stroked the goats...

By which time the moon was visible in the sky and it was time to head home.

Our dining room...

2012-01-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

Today me and D rearranged our dining room and messed about with the bookshelves. Its one of those things which ive loved doing ever since i was a child - i was always changing my bedroom around or sticking up new posters, and picked out my own colour schemes and paints. I shall have to scan a few photos from my old bedrooms to show you. Today we weren't redecorating (although i really do think that this will be the year when the whole house gets done insha'Allah) but we moved furniture from one side of the room to the other and switched books and trinkets about on the shelves.

Back in the summer i picked up this old shelf at auction for about a pound and painted it in my favourite shade of green (which i mixed using about 3 old paints from a house clearance). Then we had it put on the wall with two other shelves bought cheaply at the DIY store which i painted in the same shade of green.

Under the shelves is our Ikea dining table and chairs. The little knitted house is a holder for boxed tissues but we put a toilet roll in there. Its funny when people go to take a tissue and it just keeps coming and coming! I covered an old piece of chipboard with a 40s table cloth to cover the fire (which we don't use) and eventually we will rip the whole fireplace out. The photo above is from before we rejigged the shelf contents today. The photos below are how it looks now, perhaps too chaotic for some but i really love it and its actually one of my favourite parts of the whole house.

There are books on those shelves that ive owned for years and years, before i even left home aged 18 (ten years ago now!). I bought the blue floral tins from Laura Ashley whilst i was in the early weeks of pregnancy three years ago, the very same day that i told my Dad and Step Mum that i was expecting. Three of the books and some of the magazines were all bought brand new too, oh, and the Paperchase postcard stuck to the shelf, but everything else is second hand. Lots of these things have special memories attached and i can remember exactly where and when i bought them, and for how much.

Opposite these shelves is our crafting storage area and a comfy armchair. I made the armchair covers from old pillowcases with one seam ripped open. Ive done this for years with various pillow cases as our sofas are in need of a little TLC (but too comfy to replace). The unit on top of the draws is a bread bin which holds glue, glitter, ink stamps, zig zaggy scissors, colouring books and things like that. In the draws we have pads of paper for D, stickers, scrapbooking style embellishments, more colouring books and images ripped from magazines.

I don't decorate the house for Christmas but keep some decorations up all year round because i like a little bit of sparkle here and there.

In the next corner is our bookcase. I bought it for £5 at auction about five or six years ago, behind that area which looks like two draws is actually a big sturdy pull out table. The bottom cupboard has all of my scrapbooking and papercraft stuff in it. In the top half of our bookcase we keep all of our Islamic and religious books, as well as our photo albums. Its also a dumping ground for random things as you can see in the pictures.

My great Auntie gave me this brass incense stick holder before she passed away when i was about five years old. Its one of the items which i have owned for the longest time out of everything in this house.

On the bottom shelf i have some Bibles which are almost a hundred years old, another one of those Laura Ashley tins, and a plastic basket which i bought from the Body shop when i was about twelve. (I now boycott the Bodyshop). Theres just something i love about it even though i prefer pastel colours. Even the battered and outdated AA Leicester Street map book is special to me, ive had it for so many years and its taken me to so many places that i wouldn't part with it. I still take it with me all the time instead of using my satnav. Its full of little pencil marks and highlighted streets, and i made a pocket on the front cover to keep written directions in and bus timetables.

Whilst i was taking photos D was making traffic jams. I like the way he propped the last few vehicles up onto the shelf and the fireman is investigating something back there.

On the bookcase door handle is another decoration which cost me a few pence in a charity shop this Christmas.

On top of the bookcase is a wicker picnic basket which i bought from a lonely old man selling off his house contents to move into sheltered accommodation. Next to that is this beautiful carpet bag which holds all of my embroidery threads, needles, kits and hoops.

I bought our light fitting for £1.50 from a car boot sale in the summer, a few pains of glass are cracked but you cant tell. Ive been after this light fitting for years but always been reluctant to pay the £100+ to get one.

And lastly our rug. I LOVE this rug and hope to never get rid of it. Its an Axminster one from the 50s which cost about £25 on eBay many years ago. Its one of those things that id consider running back for in a house fire. Id love to find another one like it for our living room.

I know i shall probably look back on this blog post in years to come God willing and see how much our house has changed between now and then. I always like our decor to keep evolving. Its one of those Earthly things which has little impact on my afterlife but that i just cant help being passionate about. I just have to keep it all in perspective that's all. I'm working on it.

Fruity lamb tagine...

2012-01-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

One of last weeks meals was a lamb tagine, the first one ive made myself and it was so delicious that we have invited my in-laws over on Sunday to eat it with us again. The sprinkling of pomegranate on top was a very nice addition, surprisingly it suited the dish perfectly, very unexpected.

I used a tin of prunes rather than dried apricots, and i couldn't find the ras el hanout spice mix in any of the supermarkets i tried so i just added equal amounts of all of the spices which typically make up the mix (see the photo below). I also cooked the whole lot on the stove rather than the oven as i haven't got a lidded casserole dish big enough. And i put all ingredients except the coriander and pomegranate into the pan in one go and cooked on a medium to low heat for one hour.

We ate it with plain basmati rice which was just fine. On the whole it was an easy meal with results worth sharing with family or friends!

Foxton Locks...

2012-01-16T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hello dear readers, did you enjoy your weekend? Thankfully we had a lovely couple of days. Upon realising that Saturday was turning out to be another beautiful day with sun sparkling from frost my husband offered to take us out. I chose Foxton Locks because ive been longing to visit there for ages and ages, years in fact! And it was much more than expected, such a nostalgia filled countryside location, canal sitting still either side of the set of ten locks. Between each lock was a deep but narrow passage which i can hardly imagine a canal boat passing through but of course they do and have done since 1810 when the staircase lock flight was first built. The canal passes along a 75ft hill which meant that we could see stunning scenery far ahead and to the side whilst we walked along the footpaths. Theres a museum, cafe and shop but we didn't visit any of them, preferring to breathe in the fresh crisp air for as much of our visit as possible. There is a summer festival there mid year so im hoping we can visit again for that, i expect it will be another day out for us to treasure.

We saw perhaps eight horses being ridden along the road side and as we got half way around the circular path which we were walking along we could hear a hunt in process - horse hooves clip clopping on roads or thumping on grass, dogs barking and howling and men shouting orders or blowing the horn. Although i am against fox hunting and will never condone it, it did all sound rather thrilling. We stood tall on a high circular viewing point and caught glimpses of the group behind the bare branches of the trees but then they rode away from us as quickly as they had arrived.

I have loved barges and the culture and history associated with them ever since childhood. I remember a few canal side festivals visited with either one of my parents and its since then that i have had some kind of love for them. Do you remember Rosie and Jim? I loved that programme, and in fact i must try to find it online to show D. I'm hoping he will love it too!

Two aspects of the day which i really appreciated were the long shadows from the sun sitting low in the sky, and the clear reflections in the water. There were parts of the canal side which the sun wasn't really hitting and they remained sparkling white and frosty (D enjoyed the slipping and sliding) but where the sun was sharing its rays there was that springtime warmth which i so love. When cheeks feel the heat and the glow is the most welcome and uplifting sensation.

We waited for this pair of swans to come close and then we stood to share some fresh bread with them. Their reflections and those of the bare winter trees were captured so perfectly in the water that you could almost hold these photos upside down and see the same scene.

On Sunday i spent the afternoon clothes shopping for much needed Winter and Spring clothing and came back with lots of nice pieces. So alhamdulillah a good weekend, many blessings. This week i am seeing friends and trying to enjoy our cold Winter frost whilst it is here, as so far this Winter has been warm (this is only the forth day this whole Winter where i have noticed any frost!).

Frosty, sunny Winters day...

2012-01-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

I have had such a wonderful day today, every part of this day has been just right, such a blessing. We started the morning down the road at Brocks Hill which was covered in frost looking beautiful. We played with friends and enjoyed good conversation, and then headed back to ours for lunch. Lunch with friends is always good although it doesnt happen often for us. I made apple strudel for afters, such an easy recipe.

Then it was time to step into the garden for more play time. After our friends had departed my mum popped by for coffee and played silly with D. For dinner we had lamb tagine which was delicious (recipe to be shared soon) and this evening after ive published this post im going to make two cups of tea and then snuggle under blankets with hubby to watch an episode of Flash Forward insha'Allah.

Last night we had a power cut, so the house was quiet and dark and still. D loved the atmosphere and it took me staright back to childhood when this kind of thing happened (seemed to happen?) much more often. I absolutely loved that too :-)

I have added a Brocks Hill Country Park category link to my blog, up there below the header. We visit often and id like to have all my posts from there in one place.

Tidying up old rugs...

2012-01-12T01:50:00.000-08:00

I have these two old rugs which i bought for a pound each at auction about five years ago. They were both on our living room floor but yesterday i fancied a change and moved them up to our bedroom. To neaten them up myself and D cut all of the fringing off, and they honestly look so different. I would certainly recommend doing the same if you have any rugs looking a little passed their use by date.

Snowdrops...

2012-01-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

Today we nipped into our local town centre and visited most of the charity shops. We came home with toys and books and a new stripy cardigan for D. In one book titled 'A Victorian Posy' which is a collection of verse and prose about flowers, i came across a beautiful painting of snowdrops and so i came online to find out more about Albert Durer Lucas, the artist who painted it. Unfortunately the painting is nowhere to be found online but his other work is just beautiful. In fact, i found it so incredible that my body warmed up and i felt so full of emotion that i could almost hear my heart thumping in my chest. Just take a look at his work.

(Source)

(source)

Whilst browsing snowdrop artwork i also really liked these...

(Snowdrops, by Emma Williams)

(The Robin and the snowdrops, by Helen Hallows)

(Wrens and snowdrops, by Dick Twinney)

I have always struggled to photograph snowdrops and have never been fortunate enough to see a whole patch of grassland devoted to them. I'm hoping that perhaps next month we can go and visit some woodland with a beautiful white spread of them, il be using this site (which i also mentioned last year here) to find somewhere.

Whilst browsing for art i found these sites which i would definitely like to visit again:

Paintings i love
Emma Williams
Madame Pickwick

Winters picnic atop a mountain...

2012-01-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

Twice over the Christmas holidays we wrapped up warm and headed off to Bradgate Country Park for the freshest of air and the most beautiful of views. We walked up and down hills and over the fields of rusty orange bracken. We managed to climb some rocky outcrops (including some of the oldest rocks in England) and pretended to be mountaineers.

At the summit of one hill we sat with our backs towards the wind whilst eating a small picnic, a huge smooth rock providing us with a little bit of shelter, although the wind whipped over the top of it making my back sit cold. We couldn't sit still for long but we had just enough sunlight to warm our cheeks to let us stay there for a few moments of contemplation and appreciation.

Deer herded together this way and that and on one of our visits we even managed to hand feed a deer a peeled banana and an apple core. D wasn't afraid at all and held out his hand kindly and moved slowly and quietly, knowing that gentle actions show the deer that we can be trusted. The deer followed us very closely, within arms reach, for a few metres - his bold antlers making me weary but filling me with fascination. Then i held up my hand in a 'stop' gesture, palm faced towards him and quietly repeated "stay there" as we slowly shuffled backwards to a safe distance.

Standing on the open grassland we marvelled at the Winter sky and i was amazed at the way the cloud had separated itself between light and fluffy, and the thick grey band sitting above the villages but abruptly stopping in a clean line across the blue sky. Isn't that incredible? Allahu akbar.

We played kings and queens atop the hill with the castle and knocked on the huge door waiting for one of them to answer, but of course, they were not home.

Breathless with small legs weakening we walked downhill back to the car park, and already felt the anticipation of our next visit insha'Allah.

I have added a link to all of my Bradgate Park posts in the categories section just below my blog header, since its a place i visit often.

Spring shoots in a mild winter...

2012-01-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

For me, one of the best parts of being able to stay at home every day is surely the amount of daylight i witness at home. For those who work during the week, the weekend may be the only time that they have the opportunity to view their home in sunlight, as during the week they leave and return again whilst the moon dominates the sky. Its these daylight moments which mean that i can capture the seasons as they unroll month upon month on my own patch of land, as i take gentle steps around the garden with my camera slung over my shoulder or perhaps with just my hippocampus to capture the memories.

Last week i realised that many of our Spring bulbs are bursting shoots through the earth and preparing themselves for months of wowing and impressing and feeding hungry insects with their sweetness. And our one solitary snowdrop was visible over the weekend though i couldn't be sure that it was definitely the snowdrop i thought it to be, but just today i visited it again to see its white pendent flower - so clean and pure - now clearly telling it apart from the rest of the shoots around it.

You can see this same snowdrop photographed last January here.

For much of the year our home is too dark for decent photography with my limited knowledge on the workings of my camera. So until i dedicate an evening to figuring out the ISO and other such things, i sometimes set up a little scene out in the garden and take my photos there. Whilst i lay a scarf on the ground to form my backdrop D picked up the camera and observed what i was doing through the lens.

I photographed a couple of recipes from my scrapbook (which hadn't been glued in yet) so i could share some of this weeks meals with you. The Spanish Chicken was certainly much nicer than anticipated, and i think that is partly down to adding the garlic which i stuffed inside the chicken legs. I also removed the skin of the legs before cooking so that more flavour could penetrate. We ate it with Chinese fried rice and i will definitely (insha'Allah) be making this combo again.

We had some tuna, sweetcorn & noodle soup yesterday and although i was unsure about using the vermicelli in a savoury dish rather than the sweet dishes ive always seen it in before, it really worked and was so different to the egg noodles which i normally add to soups. (I used tuna steaks cut into large chunks rather than chicken).

(I used tinned sweetcorn and about 5 spring onions rather than leeks as my hubby isn't too fond of leeks. I also used dried parsley rather than fresh.)

(I just added all ingredients except the vermicelli and sweetcorn to the pot and cooked for 20 mins, then added the vermicelli and sweetcorn and cooked for a further 7 mins.)

Both recipes were really easy, the kind where you add the ingredients to the pot or pan and then walk away letting the cooker do the rest of the work. And it has really been good to try a few different meals again and excite the taste buds!

Fish Tagine...

2012-01-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

About once a month i like to have a week of trying new recipes - i choose about 5 meals and write down a list of exactly what i need for them and then order them so that they are delivered to me all in one go (although i nip to the butchers for the meat). Yesterday i made fish tagine which i have never tried before and i think it is a recipe worth sharing! It shall definitely be getting glued into my recipe scrapbook insha'Allah. Unfortunately i only photographed it today when we had the left overs for lunch with warm buttered toast (minus the actual fish) but im sure you get the picture.

Please excuse my accidental splodge of something or other, but i do like the authentic look, i like my recipe scrapbooks to have splashes all over the place so that i have proof that they are actually used!

People are always asking me what i usually cook because they are board of having the same meals over and over, i think the key is to use recipe books and try new meals. There is no need to feel intimidated by cook books, many recipes are not as difficult as they seem.

Today D also helped me to bake a Swedish apple cake to take to a friends house just down the road. He likes to stir the mixture and to add the teaspoons of things, today it was salt, cinnamon and ground cloves. He always likes to say "and then 50 grams of salt / cinnamon / whatever it may be" - 50 grams seems to be his favourite measurement!

I bought these scales for 50p. They came with a silver bowl which would not stay put because the top of the scales is not flat. So i super-glued this pretty plate on top so that the bowl now sits perfectly still. (As you can see i hadn't turned the cog to get the scales to zero but i did remember to do it before i actually started weighing anything!)

It sits on my kitchen shelves propping my recipe books up, above old tins and teapots. I love this little corner of my kitchen, its useful and pretty all at the same time, and that makes me very happy indeed!

Remembering the mundane :: Inside the fridge right now...

2012-01-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

For six years we made do with a standard size fridge and a tiny worktop freezer which we could never fit stuff into. I couldn't freeze portions of leftovers or buy non-essentials like ice cream, and on shopping day the fridge used to always be crammed to the point where you couldn't even see what was inside. But four months ago we finally gave our old appliances away and bought an American style fridge freezer. It has certainly changed the way that i do my shopping, and we have managed to hold onto things for a lot longer rather than having to eat them asap. There is definitely no going back insha'Allah!

On the day it arrived we were so excited, D was so intrigued and visibly eager to get it unpacked and set up. Even now he still tells me "the men bought it in the van!". I placed my magnets on the outside one by one, just right. I wanted cream, or white (i hate silver appliances) but this one was a super good deal and im ok with it now :-)

Four months later the front is a little more hectic and is used for spelling games, reward charts, leaflets and events timetables. I keep two magnetic notepads on the side and a magnetic pen so that i can jot down shopping or 'to do' lists. Today we cleaned all the inside out and awaited our Asda delivery, and then when it came D helped me pack it all inside in just the order i like it to be - i love an organised home!

The fridge is on the right hand side - on the top shelf is where i keep jam (usually bonne maman's but at the moment a homemade one too), lemon curd, and Marmite. Unopened butter and plain yogurt goes here too.

The second shelf is for left overs like half used tins or tubs of cream. I keep it here so that i never forget about it! Right now we have half a tub of gingerbread custard and half a tub of Madagascan vanilla custard (amazing), homemade courgette pickle and one pitta bread which we will probably eat with lunch tomorrow. Then we have the salad draw below, always with red and yellow peppers, cucumber and tomatoes. Theres some spinach and spring onions in there too. We eat salad every day alhamdulillah.

After that is the essentials shelf - bread, opened butter, eggs, and cheese. Theres some mozzarella and olives in there now too for meals this week. If we have sandwich fillings like sliced meat then that's probably where they will be.

After that is the shelf for D's yoghurt's and anything else such as meals, extra fresh stuff that wouldn't fit where it was supposed to fit etc.

Theres two draws at the bottom, the top one for veg and the bottom one for fruit. Alhamdulillah we always have lots of stuff in both draws, and D helps himself to as much as he wants from down there throughout the day.

The door of the fridge is for drinks - always juices, organic milk and a bottle of naughty fizzy stuff for the hubby (i boycott coca~cola which includes the Sprite in the fridge today, him not so much!). There is a shelf for sauces and cooking stuff like lemon juice, tomato puree, harisa paste and tahini - mayo and tom sauce is kept in the cupboard. On another shelf there is fresh coffee for the expresso jug.

In the freezer we always have ice creams and ice lolly's (shop bought and homemade) and ready made pastry for days when i haven't got time to make my own. Theres a meat draw and a fish draw, the fish draw is always full and the meat draw is only full when i can get to the butchers as we don't buy supermarket meat. In the door of the freezer there is always frozen veg for when i need to do a separate dinner for D (if we are having something too spicy for him for example) but i think 90% of the time he eats the same as us. And then there is the odd quick meal type thing such as battered fish or pizza. Theres bags and bags of frozen apples too from our trees last year!

I wanted to write a post like this because its these little mundane things which please me and remind me of my blessings. When i look at old photos i always look at background objects and its those little glimpses of the past which hold memories for me - you know, like the brands of foods we used to eat or the packaging which things used to be in. Perhaps the videos lined up on a shelf or the toys behind the child in the picture. I want to look back over my photos and writings here in five or perhaps even ten or more years time insha'Allah and remember how ordinary things used to be and most probably how they have changed. I have a few of these kinds of posts planned - inside the food cupboards, on top of my dressing table, inside my handbag, in my jewellery box, inside the toy box, on the bookshelf and so on. I hope that you too will enjoy these glimpses of the ordinary with me, and id love you to be inspired to do the same. Please link to your posts here if you do.

Gardening in the afternoon...

2012-01-04T09:12:00.000-08:00

This morning we did a spot of shopping at Waitrose and then picked up some chicken and lamb from the butchers ready for our week of new recipes. We came home for lunch and then spent all afternoon in the garden. Fortunately (for us) it hasn't really been cold this winter so we have managed much more in the garden than we did last year.

We (me and D that is) have extended the veg patch, so i emptied out three full wheelbarrows of compost onto the stretch of land ready to be dug and raked in tomorrow insha'Allah. I had about 15 slabs to move across the garden too - D was the slug catcher for half an hour - and then we raked and cleared some of the scrapheap which currently resides in our 'jungle' (more on that later in the week).

Last week we couldn't close our compost bin as it was so full, now about three quarters of it is empty! The downside is that i now have back ache :-(

Back inside now i wanted to share these 3 recent purchases with you. I nipped into Morrison's for something on Monday and spotted these for our kitchen.

A kitchen towel for £1.50 and two mugs for 98 pence each. I'm very particular about mugs but these are just perfect! And i am very tempted to go back to Morrison's and buy another one of these towels for my fabric cupboard!

And doesn't this months H&A look absolutely scrumptious?! I cant wait to grab my blanket, my hot tea and lose myself in the pages.

Staying home whilst the storm passes...

2012-01-03T15:54:00.000-08:00

Today has been so windy and rainy - throughout the day we have watched from the windows as the garden got soaked and the trees rustled so loudly with their forced sways. Right now the chimney breast is whooshing and our fireguard is quivering against the brick surround. We've stayed inside and are hunkering down whilst the storm passes. A good day for tea and biscuits.

I found this little mug for D at the bottom of a box of collectibles which i bought at auction. He loves it and it suits him perfectly, marsh'Allah. Isnt it sweet?

I managed to wash and dry three loads of laundry, have a long shower and iron everything waiting in the basket. I also used some of last years apples to make a tart with the left over pastry from a fish pie i baked last week. On windy winter days i like to hang my delicate laundry from the curtain rail and open the window, they are dry, fresh and ready to wear in just half an hour. And the house drops a few degrees in temperature but feels so much purer.

I like to find snippets of time during the day where D plays alone and i can sit down for a moment or two to think, read or catch up with messages on my phone. We have this comfy armchair in the dining room next to D's train set and its perfect for a little sit down followed by a cuddle when im joined by my little boy. Who by the way is now classed as a big boy because he is in pants during the day!

Tomorrow will probably be rainy again but we are off out to the butchers, im trying six new recipes in the next week or two so ive ordered everything online except for the lamb, chicken and fillet of salmon which i still need to pick up. I love having proper meals planned like this, its so exciting!

2011 in one post...

2012-01-02T16:58:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year where even if we don't celebrate the turning of a new year then we still feel a shift of attitude and an excitement of the next 12 months to come. Its psychological but a blessing too, i love feeling boosted or inspired to change for the better!

So here is my recap of 2011, in photos. I will say that despite my blog being a happy place this year has been a hard one and has challenged our family enormously. The first perhaps seven months were mostly terrible in some way or another due to workmen, DIY, rotten lettings agents and lack of faith. But all my praises go to God for getting us through it and restoring most of our happiness. We are happy. Alhamdulillah.

:: January ::

I made the most delicious muffins ive ever baked, started a new garden scrapbook, and we had our pond dipping incident at Bradgate Park.

:: February ::

In February i spent a night away in a rural hotel overlooking a huge reservoir (Rutland Water) and we enjoyed subtle changes in our garden too.

:: March ::

In March we brought home a blue tit which we found on the walk back from the country park. It was beautiful. We fell in love with Springtime and Knighton Park where D had his first icecream. It was also the month when i started visiting the Auction again, after a break of a few years. Ive picked up many things like this clock which i prettied up.

:: April ::

In April i only blogged once and i put my camera down for a break. The wasps started living in the apple tree again and i drank home made mint tea using another auction find to stir it.

:: May ::

In May i found this beautiful pre-loved quilted bedspread and fell in love with my charity shop bed linen. I took D to visit the meadow just up the road and that day is forever etched in my mind God willing. I love the photos in that blog post. Also, D learnt how to drink through a straw after i was sent some Peter Rabbit organic juice to review.

:: June ::

In June i bought these two paint by numbers paintings for just £2.90 each, we ate home grown fruit and vegetables from our back garden and went strawberry picking on Seldom seen farm.

:: July ::

In July me and my mum took D to Hunstanton which is our nearest coast, i wrote 3 posts about it, it was a very good day out alhamdulillah. 1, 2, and 3. D helped me to make strawberry and chocolate muffins, i sewed some new curtains for our living room using vintage table linens, and i received this handmade heart from an inspirational blogging friend all the way over in the USA (Sara who writes at 'Come away with me').

:: August ::

Throughout August we fasted for Ramadhan so the month was slow and quiet. Many of the seeds which i planted came into flower and we were either in the garden or at home discovering new ways to play. This moment sums up how we usually spend our time at home.

:: September ::

In September we picked the last of our courgettes and marrows and made lots of pickle. There was lots going on in the garden and we had a brilliant day out at the seaside in the city!

:: October ::

In October we were busy in the garden digging a veg patch three times as big as the one before. I wrote about my October garden here and shared all the bug shots of the year here. It was also the month when i went to Cornwall with D for a week leaving hubby at home (Part 1, part 2, part 3), and i sent a little embroidery and mixture of old papers and bookmarks back to Sara in the USA.

:: November ::

In November we visited Bradgate Park again, the 3 of us together. We also had a pheasant visit our garden which is the first for us, and we celebrated Eid-ul-adha.

:: December ::

In December i took a break from blogging but fully immersed myself in living! These photos were taken at Bradgate Country Park which has featured many times here, i shall share these December visits with you soon insha'Allah.

And so after looking through all of my photos from 2011 i have come to realise that there were so many pockets of happiness throughout and i can see none of the sadness which we thought was so prevalent. This for me is one of my most special parts of keeping this blog, i can see how my year passed and know that i am so very fortunate, God is so great and merciful. It has been a wonderful year after all and God willing 2012 will be even better.

Coming back...

2011-12-30T02:05:00.000-08:00

Do you ever get overwhelmed by how pretentious and self obsessed blogging can become? The constant competing to be the most interesting, inspiring, creative or clever person out there? And when real life comes first (just as it should) you're left in a resentful ungrateful mess with zero self confidence and an overall displeasure at the life you've been blessed with. I have no time, theres no room for me to express myself, my photos aren't good enough, im boring.

All of this is part of my thought process every few months (perhaps in truth its as i sit typing up each and every single blog post.) And then as much as i long to continue writing and sharing my photographs, and keeping track of my comings and goings throughout the seasons, the feeling of it all being with no purpose and at a detriment to my soul forces me to just stop. And i relax, my camera sits unused and i really feel calmer and just better. And i am again thankful and grateful for my life, and can put everything into context and know that at this point in my life i will have the least amount of time for past-times, but its ok, God willing that will change and a day will come when i have children in school and 6 hours a day to catch up on all the pleasure time which so often right now consists of switching off in front of mind numbing tv or catching up with housework (which isn't so much of a chore by the way).

My husband says that the way i write suggests that life is perfect here and its an illusion to how my life is. I don't usually write about the bad days because im not worthy of sympathy and in truth, right now, the bad days are not often, i praise God for that. This year has had some of the hardest trials for us and has pushed us in ways we would never have imagined. But everything which i do share here is truth and i think its a good snapshot of parts of my life. I hope that i never seem pretentious? It worries me that i may.

But im certainly ready to write again, but i must give this blog a purpose. I want to share knowledge and really inspire people to live more responsibly, and for me and you to be happy with what we have been blessed with. We can live the good life we want to live, and if we cant then perhaps its because those things really aren't important or they are just not for us right now. This life is a very short journey and closeness to God is the purpose, for all of us, whether we are believers or not. I'm looking forward to sharing much more, and i hope that you, my dear readers (and you really are dear to me - i check my stats!) will enjoy this place with me.

(Taken last week at Bradgate Country Park, with an iphone. Search for Bradgate park in my sidebar and you will see more of my photos from previous visits...)

Returning soon...

2011-12-26T14:57:00.000-08:00

Insha'Allah within a few more days i shall be back, life has been full and joyous and evenings have been slouchy tv affairs with little desire for the internet. Just what i wanted....

Eid-ul-Adha 2011...

2011-11-10T14:20:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend we had a fun time eating, gifting and remembering God, all in celebration of the second (and last) Eid of this year - Eid-ul-Adha.

Eid-ul-Adha is a celebration to remember Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham) total submission to God as he was about to sacrifice his own son, out of thankfulness, love and true slave hood to his and our creator.

With regards to Eid the Prophet Muhammad said "They are days of eating, drinking and remembrance of God" (Bukhari)

In the same spirit, the Quran mentions that:

"Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) said "Oh Allah, Lord of us! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast (Eid) for us, for the first of us and for the last of us and a sign from you. Give us sustenance, for you are the best of sustainer's." (Quran 5:114)

I wasn't sure whether to buy D gifts as he already has an abundance of 'stuff' but i went shopping for more craft supplies for him and brought home a wonderful train set too. He hasn't stopped playing with it (and we've enjoyed some wonderful craft projects too) so i think i made a good choice, alhamdulillah!

Now that he is growing up, a little boy now, i feel like Eid is getting more and more special for us. I want it to have the same exciting buzz for him as Christmas did for me when i was child. Oh its such a wonderful feeling! Praise God for his blessings!

A new garden visitor...

2011-11-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

Look who visited our garden last week! He looked for berries on our grass but fled when a cat passed under the gate and walked towards him. I saw a pheasant at the country park up the road a couple of months ago, perhaps he is the same one. I hope he comes back again insha'Allah!

Submarine...

2011-11-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

I watched this film this evening with my husband, its beautifully filmed and funny and serious all in one go. I'm going to see what else Richard Ayoade has directed because the style of this film was so refreshing. And i loved the house that Oliver and his parents lived in!

The Lost Gardens of Heligan...

2011-11-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite places in Cornwall (and i think its a place which has to be seen if possible) is The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Its a magical garden which was discovered and reinstated in the 1990s after decades of neglect and a covering of ivy and brambles. It is now a beautiful and unique place, with vegetable gardens, ponds, farmland, woodland and jungle! I visited once before with my husband before D was born, and ive longed to be there again ever since. When we walked through the entrance we were met with the glorious and fragrant harvest display well worth the gasp and wow which we both expelled. It was truly wonderful, the last harvest display i ever saw was at school when we used to weigh a table down with tinned foods and dried pulses lined up in cardboard boxes ready to be donated to the elderly. So this was something else!

After that we browsed the shop making a mental note of what to buy before we boarded the bus home, and then on to the gardens. We walked through the wooded area first, twisty trees and dark shadows...

Then back into the open air and bright sunshine, as i turned to look at the stunning views across the hills towards the sea...

D legged it and jumped into a pond! I heard a huge splash and an elderly couple dragged him out whilst i pulled a bunch of pond weed of his soaked body and hugged his tears away! Yes, so that was pond dive number two. Luckily i had spare clothes...

You can see the wet slabs where he was pulled to safety (and the views which caught my attention beyond). After the horror and relief of D's swim we were inspired by the veg gardens with their colourful rows...

And D (and me) were thrilled to stand and watch the chickens, geese and ducks in the apple orchard.

We walked through a field of cows (something we love to do back home too), the grass was so lush and the sky so blue. This was our one rain free day in Cornwall.

It was time for tea and cake and on the way we discovered (and i remembered) these huge hydrangea heads, i wanted so much to snip them off and bring them home.

Our shared tea and cake were delish and then we were off again...

Although the scenery, the planting, and the beauty of Heligan is what makes this place so special to me, the old man-made features are a source of fascination too. I imagine that this well was probably the main water source once upon a time, and these beautiful grates were dotted about the place to try and make up for the huge amount of rainfall which showers down over Cornwall.

Autumn is even more exciting when you can walk over crisp, brown and orange leafy carpets and kick a few in the air as you go. I love the fact that having D with me makes me do that even more.

On to the jungle, which truly is like a real actual jungle! If monkeys were jumping from tree to tree or calling out to one another then i would imagine it would not seem odd at all.

And then we headed back through the woods and past the lady in the mud and the giants head, back towards the shop for gifts and treats.

And i think that concludes my Cornwall posts for now, although i still have my shell photos to share, i cant look back on this blog in years to come (insha'Allah) and not see the beautiful shells which we brought home. There are some with holes in them which i would like to make into a small mobile for my garden insha'Allah. I love little reminders dotted about the place to make us reminisce over things we've done together (or apart) - they make our house feel like a home don't they?

The harbour...

2011-11-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

My love for Mevagissey on the South coast of Cornwall has grown and grown some more since first visiting as a child perhaps more than ten years ago. Its so very different to my home city; when i think of Mev i think of a buoyant, jaunty, colourful, humble, quaint little harbour town tucked into a patchwork of cobbled streets carved between hills.

When the tide is out and the sea sprays and thrashes the outer harbour, the small fishing boats sit on the sludgy seaweed strewn across the floor of the inner harbour. The seagulls plod across the wet sand and look for discarded fish remains, crabs, and starfish - ive often seen them tucking into something or other.

Whilst the sea is still out there's a small beach which is where this year we found most of our broken pottery, sea glass and some broken shells which have smooth edges from their time out at sea. Then there is a second beach which is great for rock pools, we found a crab or two here and D was in splash heaven. Its a small beach, precarious to get onto, and its protected on either side by cliffs.

Back off the beach and up onto the solid ground, you can walk along the outer harbour where there is a long drop into the deep ocean with no wall or railings to stop you from falling. Its very fresh up there! D held my hand tightly and we looked across the sea to the hills in the distance.

As the morning became early afternoon the sea came in towards the fishing boats and they began bobbing gently, giving soothing comfort to the seagulls sitting aboard them. Other gulls sit on the water or fly overhead casually, whilst we sat on a bench and shared a Cornish ice cream whilst small raindrops sparkled through the sun and a faint rainbow appeared in the sky.

After walking through the narrow cobbled lanes and buying Cornish fudge, an old Noddy book, gifts and a magnet for our fridge, we walked around a small model railway at the end of a cul-de-sac behind the shops. I think i could have left D there for the rest of the day, he was bouncing off the walls! But instead we headed for the bus stop and took the journey along narrow countryside roads, through hills, past crop fields and the most beautiful hilly shore i know, back to our home for the week to dry off and tuck into dinner.

After our holiday...

2011-11-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Me and D returned from our week in Cornwall on Sunday. It was wet and rainy seven out of eight days but that just means more puddles to splash in right?! D was overflowing with excitement and was very well behaved on the 266 mile long journey down there marsh'Allah.

We arrived there and were instantly swooned by the views from my dad and step mums house (where we were staying) - imagine seeing that view every time you gaze out of your windows! It was amazing every time, and sent me daydreaming about the kind of home i would love to be blessed with one day insha'Allah.

We visited my old favorite place Mevagissey, a quaint and quirky seaside harbour town, Charlestown with its pirate ships and pebbly beaches, The lost gardens of Heligan which is the most incredible and magical garden i have ever visited, and Dairyland where D saw cows being milked and even got a certificate for milking a (pretend) cow.

I have too many photos to share for one post, may the Cornwall love continue next time....

(We loved watching this seagull eating the starfish - we followed him all the way down to the cliff edge before he flew away with it to feed his family - as little D told me)

(There are so many interesting textures, shapes and colours to be inspired by when your in a part of the world so different to the place you call home)

(Here we are on one of Charlestown's beaches. We came home with a bucket of slate 'pebbles', crabs legs, and different shells - more variation than when we visited Hunstanton earlier this year)

(D picked these for me while i sat down for a rest at The Lost Gardens of Heligan - such a sweet boy marsh'Allah)

(In Mevagissey)

(We were resting on another bench at The Lost Gardens of Heligan when D wanted to take photos)

Autumn is truly here...

2011-10-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

I feel like i need to write a catch up post as i have so many photos to share and haven't been able to visit this space in a while. I was feeling a little deflated for the first half of this week but now some enthusiasm and excitement is returning as me and D are going to Cornwall on Saturday insha'Allah! We are going to spend a week at my dads house (he lives there) and i think im looking forward to the charity shops, the fresh windy seaside air, the open natural views and the fun and laughter that will most likely exude from D. It will be a great opportunity for him to bond with his grandparents.

The weather has certainly become truly Autumnal this week, i really love it. I wore my winter coat for the first time in this half of the year yesterday and we also had gloves on our fingers and a winter hat on D's head.

The trees still have plenty of leaves left to shed but they are looking browner and the branches are definitely more bare than in the Summer. This morning i looked out across the garden to see that there was lots of cold condensation on the inside of our greenhouse and wet dew on the grass and it looked cold out there again. We had our central heating on for most of today, another first since last Winter.

Tomorrow i shall be doing the last bits of laundry, ironing, packing our suitcase, cleaning the house and trying to get into bed early in preparation for the long day of travelling on Saturday. So i may not be back in this space for another week and a half insha'Allah.

What are you doing in the next few days?

(All photos are from our trip to Brocks Hill at the start of this month. You can read my other Brocks Hill posts here, here, and here,)

Embroidery...

2011-10-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Ive had an idea in my head for a while of an embroidered picture that i wanted to stitch, so i decided to make one for my blogging friend Sara. You may remember that Sara sent me a hand made heart wall hanging which is displayed on my dining room wall. It felt so good to receive a gift through the post from her and i really wanted to return the feeling.

Its been a while since i embroidered anything and i will admit that it took me a while to start the picture in the worry that it wouldn't be good enough. And although i did not try any new stitches, i think in the end it turned out alright and was a sweet little picture. I really cant wait to make more of them.

I added the blue Bible as Sara made herself a denim cover for her own Bible with a heart motif on it.

I also sent Sara some bits which i found tucked into various old books, bibles and an autograph / note book. I recently bought a few boxes of old books (i sell vintage collectibles online) and after a very enjoyable rummage and flick through them all i found so many special and charming newspaper cuttings, old postcards and vintage advertisements. And of course i kept many of the books for myself too, some are definitely worthy of their own blog post.

These are all the ones i sent to Sara, i need to have a think as to what i can make with the rest that i kept.

I especially love the little blue tit picture. The illustration is very sweet and charming.

And insha'Allah the quotation is true.

Bugs...

2011-10-14T01:51:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of this Summer for me is the time ive spent with D doing all of the fun and interesting things that i probably wouldn't have done without him. I think perhaps my favourite thing (or one of them) about motherhood is being able to share my passions with someone who is just as fascinated, amazed and easily pleased as me, and to be able to express my joy at such things freely without worrying that he will think im odd or silly. Nobody else will organise bookcases (every couple of months), rummage through button tins, pose for photographs a million times over, set up little still life displays or get up close with bugs with me, but D does, and will, and enjoys just as much as me, all of those things. There is, for now, unconditional acceptance of all of my habits and hobbies, and that gives me such a wonderful feeling, inspiring me to fulfill more of my dreams and make me feel free and at ease with who i am.

So this summer, we have been totally enthralled by the creatures we have come across in our garden and i have seen bugs up close like never before...

The raspberry bush was covered with aphids and black fly, all of them in one still, huddled group.

We have seen plenty of ladybirds and they are still visiting our garden right now. We saw them when they were new to the world and not yet resembling their adult form...

And we noticed them stuck to leaves undergoing transformation to the next stage of their development...

And of course we have seen, held and admired them in their familiar red polka dot jackets...

We followed and videoed bumble bees, and let them walk across our fingers and up our arms...

And were amazed and delighted to hear and then catch a grasshopper with only one jumping leg, who stayed with us for ages as we passed him from finger to hand to log and then back into the grass for him to hop once more...

There were tiny caterpillars in our nasturtiums and naughty ones in our apples, but mostly these small but squishy bright green ones...

So many snails with Gods artistry perfectly displayed on each shell, so many variations of this humble mollusc within my small outdoor space, we cant get enough of them and the thought of salt or the stamp of a boot horrifies me!...

We saw this beautiful green and pink spider (and my mum told me she saw one just the day before i took these photos too) which i have never seen before. It was on our compost bin so i scooped it onto a fallen leaf from our cherry tree and marvelled at their likeness to each other. Its called an enoplognatha ovata, and just look at the tiny hairs on the leaf...

Another new to me bug is the shield bug, which i have grown to love oh so much! They come in different colours and are so hardy and prehistoric looking, they are something which i never would have thought we would have in England...

We collect worms at some point every week, some we feed to our brave robin(s) and others we put back after we have finished taking them on the swing or pushing them around the garden on the bicycle. Our compost bin must be home to hundreds of them...

And then, as always, the common spider, a familiar sight, a slight frustration when they make my washing line their home and i have to avoid damaging their webs, but still a definite source of interest for D...

And we haven't done discovering yet insha'Allah. There is still so much left to distract us from the TV, the computer and from toy traffic jams or dancing in circles to Aloe Blacc. I defy you to not enjoy bug hunting!

Passing on the magazine love...

2011-10-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

(My unread free magazines from my local libraries recycling box. The vintage table cloth in the back ground is mounted on a piece of scrap wood and acts as our fire guard and i made our armchair arm covers from vintage pillow cases with the bottom seam undone)

Do you read magazines? I have loved magazines since i was a young girl buying BBC Wildlife magazine and various other animal related grown up monthlies. When i hit age 13 i started secretly buying 'More' and 'Just seventeen' - way beyond my years but i was a curious teen! It saddens me to think that i could actually get away with purchasing magazines like that at such a tender age. And for the past 10 years or so of my life i have been buying 'home' magazines - Country Living magazine being the one i have bought the most.

Right now i subscribe to Country Living and Country Homes and Interiors and i have bought every issue of BBC Homes and Antiques for the past year and Mollie Makes every month since its release 6 months ago. I will be subscribing to both next month insha'Allah. As well as those four i buy other magazines occasionally and come home with loads of free copies from the library recycling box every month too. I could write a huge post on my magazine love and the pleasure i get from sitting down with one (and a cup of tea) but i will save that for another day.

(All the November issues which i haven't even managed to start yet!)

So, being as i have this guilty, luxury habit (for that's what i see it as) it didn't come as a surprise to find that Little D also loves to look through magazines. He will often be down on hands and knees looking at the (way too many and definitely overpriced) children's magazines in the newsagents whilst i am flicking through the ones overhead. I am yet to buy him one but he has been given a couple which he loves.

One of those is 'Animal Planet' magazine from the Discovery channel. Although aimed at 7 to 10 year old's, both me and D have really found it quite fascinating - lots of photos, facts, articles and puzzles. Just the kind of magazine i would have bought when i was younger, and exactly the kind i would like D to pester me for too! Its definitely educational and inspiring, with no rubbish to fill in the pages. We keep going back to it and finding things which we hadn't spotted before and he is even learning the names of new to him animals (aardvark, prairie dog and stork). It came with a free 'explorer kit' which we will be taking into the garden at some point, we are big bug fans around here (i have a bug filled post coming up soon insha'Allah).

If ever i see kids reading magazines they are normally ones associated with cartoon characters and although they do have their fun elements, i cant help but feel that the parents are really missing a huge opportunity to get their kids reading something educational and fun. Magazines like Animal Planet really don't have any downsides in my opinion.

Please do share with me the names of some of your favourite magazines from past and present!!?

* I was given Animal Planet for the purpose of review - but we genuinely love it!

The last bits of summer...

2011-10-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Its hard to remember how warm and bright the days were last week, and even the first few days of this week too. We had a final blast of summery weather which one would never associate with this time of year. Still in shorts and tshirts (for the little one) and summery long dresses and thin cardigans (for me) with no plans to get my winter woolen coat out of storage.

But right now we are in full on Autumn mode - blustery wind, rain storms, subdued sunlight and i noticed today that our apple trees are almost bare again,with the grass covered with the fallen leaves and the last of the fruit.

This cooler (perhaps i could even say cold weather) has meant that i can get on with some of the harder gardening work i still want to get done this year. I have extended the path which i laid earlier this year and am tripling the size of my veg path for next year insha'Allah.

So before summer becomes a distant memory, i wanted to save the last of my summer photos here, these are the special little bits that i can remember right now and that i don't want to forget...

Treasure chest (of draws)...

2011-09-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

I bought this beautiful miniature chest of draws for about £1 a few weeks ago and it is so lovely. When the bottom draw opens a tinkling tune is played on the steel music box inside and that music sends me straight back to my childhood.

I've decided to use it for Little D's treasures and at the moment it is home to some snail shells from the garden, some feathers from our day on a farm, our recent conker and acorn haul (his current favourite treasure) and all of the shells and small pebbles which we gathered from the beach in Hunstanton which i blogged about back in July (the crab shells have since been composted - much too fragile for the hands of a two year old!)

He loves to be part of my photo shoots and between all of my blog photos i have to take plenty of him pulling funny faces.

I cant wait to add more and more to this treasure chest and perhaps (insha'Allah) even expand the collection into other boxes, jars and tins. I used to have microscope slides which my dad had made when he was a boy - hairs, insects, insect wings etc but at some point in my own childhood i threw them away - why oh why!? I absolutely love these personal collections, and can spend hours looking at them. I was also fortunate enough to bring home a few boxes of old books of which most have hand written notes, newspaper clippings, hand made bookmarks etc tucked in their old pages, from the Victorian period all the way up to the 70s - and that shall wait until another blog post....

Watching the old family films...

2011-09-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

The weather in most of England right now is hot, dry, and sunny, with a slight cool breeze to take the edge off it all. Although i don't really enjoy the summer i am really enjoying this last burst of summer weather before the darker winter months draw in. I feel like we should be pulling the paddling pool out again but the date on the calendar is telling me that it simply cant be warm enough!

As soon as this warmer weather calms down into more typical Autumn temperatures and there is too much rain outdoors for us to play in the garden, the advantages of a TV comes into consideration. We have been without a TV for about three and a half years but we have decided that we cant hold fast to our morals any longer and we have borrowed a TV for the Winter (maybe longer, we'll see..). For me the possibility of watching Christmas TV fills me with joy and excitement, and although Little D is still a little too young to concentrate on a story line for longer than 20 minutes, the thought of watching movies together is wonderful.

I was recently given a DVD film called 'Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz', featuring the familiar characters from both programmes combined into a pretty funny but sometimes quite scary (for a two year old) film. We sat down to watch it one morning while eating breakfast and we lasted about 40 minutes before it got too scary for D and he asked to "Play toys together" (as he asks me so often). It was nice sitting together on the floor surrounded by cushions and covered with a blanket whilst drinking tea and eating our muesli, and i was delighted to hear all the familiar songs from the Wizard of Oz and sing them to him. I think D found the fighting cat and mouse the most entertaining! He giggled until milk started sputtering out of his mouth quite a few times!

The DVD was released on 19th September by Warner home video and can be purchased on Amazon.co.uk for just £3.69 here and Amazon.com for $14.99 here. If you like either or both of the originals then this combined film is worth it. Its better made than i expected and i think the kids would love it.

* The DVD was given to me for the purpose of review

** And don't let your kids watch too much telly, creative play and books are the way to go!

Autumn is almost here...

2011-09-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

We cannot resist collecting conkers, acorns and beech nuts (eaten and spat out by Little D just before i took this photo yesterday!)

We now have quite a collection! I still have a bonne maman jar full of conkers from last year - always to be cherished as his first bunch of conkers.

Here in the middle of England the weather has been absolutely beautiful, we spent all of today in the garden playing. Our grass is covered with a sprinkle of orange and brown leaves. Theres still plenty of ladybirds about, lovely little things. And shield bugs! Perhaps my favorite bug of all!

I have a lovely old miniature chest of draws for all of our natural treasure to stay safe in, il have to show you sometime...

Your first piece of patchwork...

2011-09-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

My favourite style of sewing is patchwork - i love to use pieces of pre-loved fabric or left over scraps from another project to create a piece abundant in patterns, colours and textures. It feels so much more enjoyable to join squares (or rectangles, triangles or crazy shapes) together one by one and for me the look is homely, humbling, and oozes with warmth and love from the person who made it.

I have saved every single one of Little D's pieces of clothing (even the stained and ripped ones) for another little baby someday insha'Allah, and after that i shall probably use them in a patchwork quilt or two (or even three). Ive never really followed any rules with patchwork, just deliberated, roughly measured, snipped, and sewed until ive finished. For those who are beginners in patchwork and would like to give it a try (and i know a few of my friends are reading this with a patchwork project in mind), here are my suggestions, based on making a patchwork blanket...

Choose fabrics similar in weight and type, preferably with little or no stretch.

Start with rectangles or squares as they are easier for a beginner than other shapes.

Work out how big you want your finished blanket to be.

Cut your squares / rectangles accurately - i like 10 to 15cm squares. Work out how many of these you will need to make up the size of the blanket that you want. And remember that your sewing will make each square about 2cm smaller (so a 15X15cm square will become a 13X13cm square).

It is better to cut all of your squares before you start sewing - much better to have too many squares than too few.

Decide if you want to follow a pattern or just randomly sew squares together. If you want a pattern then lay all the squares out and take a photo or draw a picture for reference so that you know how to put them all back together again when you start sewing.

Keep your seam allowances to about 1cm all around each square.

I like to sew a row of squares at a time, then sew all my rows together as im going.

Once you have finished sewing the patchwork pieces together you will need a backing for the blanket to cover all of your seams. You can back it with another patchworked piece or with one large piece of fabric. Another blanket is an ideal backing.

Snuggle, display or play on your newly finished blanket!

I am in the process of making a patchwork quilt cover for Little D (in fact ive been making this for a few months now and just never getting around to finishing it!). I have already finished his pillow case and i love it, i think it will look so nice when its in his room insha'Allah! Give me another week or two!

*The link for my patchwork blanket post (as seen in the first photo) is here

Courgette pickle...

2011-09-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have had lovely requests lately for my crunchy courgette pickle recipe, a marrow curry recipe, the 'how to' on making a patchwork blanket from old baby clothes, and how i keep my paperwork so organised. I'm very grateful to be treated like wonder woman :-) (and please know that i have plenty of bad days too!).

So first up is my Crunchy courgette pickle recipe, which i found in a 10 year old magazine i managed to pick up from our library magazine recycling box. I will share the original recipe which makes approx 18 jars of pickle (using 340g / 12 oz jars). I halved the recipe and ended up with 8 jars.

INGREDIENTS...

10lb (2.2kg) firm courgettes

2 1/4 lb (1kg) onions

1 1/4 cup (400g) salt

9 cups (2160ml) distilled vinegar

2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds

3 tsp celery salt

3 tsp turmeric

8 cups (1320g) sugar

METHOD...

Wash courgettes and slice really thinly, about 3mm thick

Slice peeled onions in the same way

Put courgettes and onions in a bowl, cover with water and add the salt

Let the mixture soak in this brine for 2 hours and then rinse well and squeeze out as much water as possible.

Bring remaining ingredients to the boil

Pour this mixture over the onion / courgette mix in a pan and leave to stand for another 2 hours

Bring mixture back to the boil, boil for exactly 5 minutes and then pack into sterilised jars

Share with friends and family!

HOW TO STERILISE JARS...

Click here for info. (I used the oven, and my jars were old pasta sauce / jam / honey jars which i had washed and saved)

Ive been eating this pickle on crackers, salads, with rice and curry and on the side of my dinner plate with whatever i happen to be eating! I think its a wonderful first homemade pickle!

The new bits...

2011-09-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

I hope you like my new header and blog name???! And ive updated my 'About me' section too :-)

I want to work on this space a little more over the next few weeks, nothing too different but perhaps il put a spring back in my blogging step!

In other news...

We picked the last of our courgettes and marrows (yes, in our pyjamas) and put the very tired looking plants in the compost bin, then went and made Courgette pickle.

The next job is to tackle the carrier bags full of apples from our back garden, that involves a whole evening of peeling and chopping...

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2011-09-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

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Old cookery books...

2011-09-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

One of my guilty pleasures is buying vintage books. I love everything about them and if i can get older editions of books which are still in print then i will do. I long for the time to make myself comfortable, hugged by a blanket, with warm tea by my side, sitting with a book in my hands (and probably one or two on my knee as well). Whether its high Summer or the bleakest of Winters this is possibly where i feel most content.

I know that many women have a love of cookery books but for me i keep my food books few and prefer to scrapbook recipes ripped from magazines or shared by friends and family. Two of my most used cookery books were given to me by my mum some years ago - 'Vegetarian Cooking' by Lalita Ahmed and 'Indian cooking' edited by Eileen Turner. Both very good books and highly recommended by me.

I have three old cookery books in my kitchen which i really enjoy flicking through.

'Odhams Encyclopedia of Cookery Illustrated' is the leather bound one. I think its from the 50's but there is no date in the book.

Theres lots of old adverts in it for kitchen appliances or cleaning / food products - the wonderful Frigidaire, the Moffat automatic luxury cooker that thinks for itself!, Lyle's Golden Syrup Helps with your cooking!, and Oteg egg preservative!

The second one is called 'Good things in England - a book of real English Cookery' edited by Florence White. This one is my favourite. This book is made up of recipes which have been handed down through the generations or passed on from one woman to the next, and each recipe has a date, or the name of the person who owned the recipe or the place in England where it was used or if we are lucky, all three. Some recipes even have a short introduction or a story about the person who cooked it and maybe even their actual address!

Its a very fascinating piece of social history and contains some really good recipes, and many regional ones too. I've used it quite a few times now and always feel like ive stepped back in time when i read from it. If you click my link then you can see a new edition (1999) of the book on Amazon and the synopsis here is very good.

And the final one is called 'Perfect cooking' and was published by Parkinson Cowan appliances to be used with their gas cookers. The edition i have is 1958 and the recipes (and the illustrations and front cover) are all very much in the 50's era. Theres lots of easy and basic recipes in this book so its good for spur of the moment cooking. To be honest im just drawn to its perfectly retro front cover and colourful illustrations inside.

I would love to hear your own favourite vintage books, and if you have an old blog post (or want to write a new one about them) then please do share with me!

The garden right now...

2011-09-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos from around the garden right now.

Perhaps these are the last pops of colour for this year before autumn browns and russets mixed with the greens of lichen, weeds and grasses take pride of place throughout autumn and winter.

The weather is still nice here, not too cold, not too hot. Short showers of rain, exciting (and refreshing) blusts of wind. Blue skies some days, grey skies the next, both beautiful in different ways.

We are still seeing bugs, worms and butterflies. Still watching squirrels foraging and doves and pigeons taking relaxed strolls around the garden.

And i love that every single one of these flowers which remains in our garden right now was grown by me from tiny seeds. God is great!

I love that being a stay at home mum and housewife means that i have plenty of time to enjoy my home and garden. It really is the simple things...

Handmade cards...

2011-09-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

I never managed to show you the handmade cards which i gave to my friends and family this Eid (two weeks ago). There are so many very nice cards in the shops but hand made or even shop bought but tweaked a little always seems much nicer. Its lovely to receive a personalised card isnt it?

I managed to make about 8 cards in just one hour using a very simple technique. I opened up my box of scrap booking papers, stickers, ribbons, tapes etc and chose some pretty papers and stickers and some boyish ones for Little D. I then ripped the papers into strips (no measuring needed) and then stuck them down in a striped patchwork pattern Adding 3D stickers helped to finish them off, and that's it!

Total cost :: I didn't spend anything as i used things that i already had. You can use ripped magazines, packaging, newspapers, photos or books for this too.

Materials used :: A folded piece of card and an envelope, plus stickers and papers. Oh, and glue of course.

Time taken :: Eight cards in one hour.

Seaside in the city...

2011-09-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday me, my hubby and Little D visited Abbey Pumping Station which is close to the centre of the city. Its a science and technology museum situated on the site of the Victorian sewerage works which used to pump the waste away from that part of Leicester using beam steam engines. Ive taken D once before but this time there was a seaside fun day.

And Oh it was wonderful! Old buses, motorbikes, pick up trucks and fire engines. (Such delights for little boys)

Hand operated wooden carousels, teacups and the old classic game of hook-a-duck.

Ice creams and paper bags filled with chips from a 1940's chip van. Sandcastles and big splashes on the 'beach' with a frantic dispersing of children when rain drops started falling.

The whole day had a 20's through to 50's theme, brim full of nostalgia and old style fun. There was a knobbly knees contest, and a plate smashing game.

It was a shame that so much vintage crockery was being smashed up though! I wanted to step in and pick up some pieces to bring them home but i resisted of course! There was even a Punch and Judy show but Little D wanted to take a trip on the steam train instead (bumpy, windy, smoky fun!).

And there were donkeys with bells which D had a ride on, he loved it! Bouncing up and down with the movement of the donkey called Henry as he walked down the grass path and back again. Oh how i would love to own my very own donkey, such sweet and humble animals.

All backed by the sounds of old childhood holidays - an eccentric guy hailed from the 80's talking loudly over a microphone, embarrassing innocent members of the public. A husband and wife team with a folksy music box and an accordion. And of course those donkey bells jingling as they carry small excited children on their saddles.

Il show you some photos from the actual museum in another post as i took some a few weeks ago on our first visit there. Id always resisted visiting this museum as im not overly interested in science and technology, but i must say that it is worth a visit, especially for transport mad little boys who will wow and woooo at big hunks of metal machinery!

Yesterday certainly was a wonderful day out, and i most certainly cant wait for next summers seaside fun day - not to be missed!

Little D the photographer...

2011-09-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Little D absolutely loves my camera, he will pull silly faces and pose for photo shoots, and carry the camera around with him and look at things through the LCD screen. He demands 'wotos' rather than 'photos' and will say 'see him' if he wants me to put the camera in movie mode and film a short video.

Today he wandered off around the garden with the camera hanging from his neck, and here is what he came back with...

Pretty good for someone who is younger than the camera he shot the photos with! Im very excited about buying him a little camera for himself in a few more months time, i think he will love it!

Postman Pat...

2011-09-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Since i reviewed the kids spring water last month me and Little D have been using YouTube to watch some old children's programmes. I really enjoy watching the programmes i used to watch a child (most of us do don't we?) but i will admit that some of them are either rediculous now that im an adult, or i wonder how parents could have ever let their children watch them in the first place!

One of the programmes which Little D likes to ask for is Postman Pat. I absolutely love it, its such a lovely programme, full of countryside scene's, set in a small village, with friendly village characters that you would want as your neighbours in real life. I feel like i step into some kind of James Herriot novel whenever i sit down and watch an episode. It has a certain amount of charm i think.

Postman pat is now 30 years old and a DVD of old episodes is being released on the 12th September along with a music CD aimed at parties. I was fortunate enough to receive the DVD in advance and so i wrapped it up as one of Little D's Eid pressies (another Eid post coming up soon insha'Allah). On the afternoon of Eid day we put it on at my Mother in laws house and Little D sat and watched it with me through about three or four episodes, sprawled out with big floor cushions and a blanket. Its the longest he has sat down to watch something!

I look forward to the day when he can look back at his own childhood and remember all of the programmes he used to watch too insha'Allah. And hopefully i can also sit down with him and spend many happy hours trawling my blog archives to find little snippets of our past to amuse him too.

Wigston Magna {Part 2}

2011-09-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

I shared my little town with you back in July when i wrote about some historic streets and buildings which me and Little D discovered one day when we fancied a long and explorable stroll. Although our town is now called Wigston Magna it was once known as Wigston Two Steeples. I showed you photos of All Saints Church on my {part 1} post in July and a few weeks ago we walked around the grounds of the other old Parish church in Wigston which is called St Wistans. You can read about both churches here.

St Wistans is much smaller than All Saints and i walk by it a couple of times every week, its not too far from where i live. I am yet to see inside but i have read that it once held a shrine to a local Saint. The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century made the worship of Saints, shrines and relics illegal so the chapel became a school room then meeting house then mortuary house, then fuel store, then a barn and then a pair of alms houses. In 1877 it opened again as a church and in 1957 it was restored to what it is now.

The grave stones outside are from the late eighteen hundreds onwards (up to the 1950's if i remember correctly). They are mostly chipped and lichen covered, slanted and weary looking, so interesting and full of social history. Some grave stones have their original engravings with another one added on top at a later date when their deceased relative would join them in their plot. In fact most of the graves have more than one body in them.

These two pretty houses stand together next to the church and i think they would have been lovely places to live throughout the years before they became surrounded by tarmac and modern buildings just around the corner.

Although i was never a Christian (albeit Christened into the Church of England when i was a baby) i have always found old Churches to be very interesting, attractive and spiritual places. I have a love for historic buildings anyway but churches seem extra special, places where throughout the years people have gathered to praise, worship, thank and seek forgiveness from the Almighty.

If i manage to actually enter these churches some day i will be sure to share them with you insha'Allah. And there are many more parts of my local area which i hope to be exploring and photographing throughout the months and years too.

No more travel sickness...(A giveaway)

2011-09-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ive suffered from travel sickness for many, many years and never found a reliable cure. Even a couple of minutes in a car or on a bus can cause me to start feeling nauseous, hot, and suffocated. My temples begin to itch and i feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic. Its worse if im in the back seat of a car, the sickness is often instant on those occasions. I have found that sucking hard boiled sweets does help but the amount of sugar i consumed bothered me, and i didn't want to buy over the counter drugs as i feel uncomfortable taking regular western medicines.

When i heard about Sea-Bands i jumped at the chance to try them. They use acupressure to naturally relieve feelings of motion sickness, morning sickness, cancer nausea and vomiting. Sea-Bands are knitted elasticated bands which fit tightly around the wrist, with a hard plastic stud which applies pressure to the acupressure point of the wrist. I know very little about acupressure so i wasn't sure how effective they would be, but i have used them on three journeys recently, between 10 and 50 minutes long and i have found that they actually work for me. I now keep them in my hand bag all the time and im actually looking forward to using them again!

Travel sickness is a huge problem for some people - i have never let it stop me from travelling but it has made me feel anxious on days where i know i have some travelling to do. I visit a masjid (mosque) every Tuesday to study which involves over an hour on various buses and ive found this journey particularly hard due to the nausea i feel. But now im not so worried! This Tuesday will be the first time i use the Sea-Bands on a bus but im hopeful that they will help.

If you would like to try sea-bands out for yourself then you can enter my give away for a chance to win some. This offer is open to anyone, anywhere. Remember, they are not only for travel sickness, but also morning sickness, and post op / chemo induced nausea.

I have two pairs of children's Sea-Bands and two pairs of adult Sea-Bands to give away. Comments must be left on this post for your chance to enter. Please enter by letting me know whether you are interested in children's or adults Sea-Bands and also tell me an interesting fact about yourself, just to make it more fun!!

This Give - Away will end in one week, on the evening of Sunday 11th September.

The past month...

2011-09-01T14:39:00.000-07:00

The past month has been exhausting and i sit here with a headache and tired eyes. But it has also been full of some good things to be thankful for and im excited about regaining some energy now that Ramadhan has ended for another year insha'Allah.

Eid was very nice, we celebrated it on Tuesday with a roast dinner at my mother in laws and an evening with friends and a buffet. Then yesterday we visited family in Coventry for delicious food Pakistani style. A fairly typical Eid for us but it was good.

The past month has also included...

Watching moving pictures on a black box in our living room after three and a half years with no TV,

Eating apples plucked from our back garden trees, sweetcorn snapped from our veg patch and carrots pulled from our home-made compost,

Rearranging furniture after a 99p eBay win, gifted furniture, a major kitchen purchase and the arrival of the aforementioned black box,

Reading snippets from books now that they are finally out of storage,

Rejoicing with the pleasure of seeing someone very close to me accept Islam and become a Muslim,

Meeting new friends who are sure to become good friends insha'Allah,

Looking forward to Autumn and its cooler days, swishy leaves, darker evenings and conker collecting.

Down at the farm...

2011-08-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited our city farm for some fresh cool air and some much needed inspiration to put a spring back in my step. We loved it, i couldn't believe how confident Little D was feeding the goats and sheep from his hand, chatting away to them, pulling a few ears (!) and giving lots of hugs and strokes. He really is most at home when he is surrounded by open land, flora and fauna, and beneath skies whether bright crisp blue or dark and heavy. If only i could share his smiles and excitable chatter with you.

The website for Gorse Hill City farm can be found here.

The life cycle of a poppy...

2011-08-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

I mentioned yesterday a little book which i bought for 49 pence from one of our charity shops in the local town yesterday. Its called 'Flowers' and is from the 'Life - Cycle books' series written by 'Althea'. I love simple children's books with old style illustration - in this case its 70's bold colouring with humble yet accurate drawings.

I am definitely going to try and get the other 11 books in the series, many are on Amazon for just one pence each. The other titles are trees, frogs, birds, butterflies, swans, hedgehogs, foxes, fish, ladybirds, bats and snails.

You can buy the flowers book on Amazon here.

And you can read more about the author here (she is also a fused glass artist) and see a list of her other titles here (she has written so many books!)

And i just realised how terrible my photos are this post, but knew id never get around to redoing them! Sorry!

Half way through Ramadhan...

2011-08-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

We are just past the half way mark in the month of Ramadhan now. Days feel like they are getting longer when really they are getting shorter. We are now down from 19 hour fasts to just over 17 hours. But alhamdulillah there is more food than we could eat waiting for us at sunset. And food is always so yummy during these evenings, but i will admit i over eat until my tummy is heavy enough to leave me slumped in my chair with not much enthusiasm for prayer!

I have been feeling more nauseous than usual during the day and have been using Sea-Bands to help to combat it, and they have worked!

They are a natural alternative to drugs and use acupressure to heal feelings of nausea, travel, sea and morning sickness. I have always suffered from travel sickness so although i wont be travelling anywhere far within the next couple of weeks, im certainly excited about the prospect of travelling in future with no faintness, stomach churning and suffocating feelings. Il be back at the start of September to let you know whether the days of sucking boiled sweets on buses and in cars are long behind me!

I also wanted to tell you about a lovely little book i bought today all about poppies. Its a children's book from the 70's with very simple illustrations but its just so lovely that i am going to try and track down other books in the series. I will be back with photos of it tomorrow insha'Allah, but i will leave you with some photos of the poppies (and the hover flies) in my garden right now.

I hope you are all happy and in the best of health and are enjoying the end of the Summer (and feeling excited about the Autumn to come insha'Alah) xx

Spring water for kids...

2011-08-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

Little D has always been a big drinker (with sagging nappies and wet patches to show for it!) so quite often he will drink his whole bottle of juice whilst we are out leaving me needing to buy him some more. I'm often in a bit of a predicament as to what to buy him as everything available seems too artificial or sugary. The organic juices which I reviewed back here are perfect but not usually available, so we tend to share a bottle of spring water.

A big hit right now are bottles of Spring water aimed at kids! They feature children's cartoon characters on them to make them more fun than standard bottles of Spring water. We hadn’t discovered these before but now that we have i will say that its an excellent idea! He has never seemed more enthusiastic about drinking water, and now wants me to do constant YouTube searches for Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Fireman Sam episodes! (We've watched BtB before but not the other two which we both love now!) There are Angelina Ballerina ones for the girls too.

They are very easy for him to drink from, and the right size for him to hold. Its about time that there was a product like this to encourage children to drink water rather than sweetened fruit juices and fizzy pop. I don’t normally endorse products plastered with cartoon or TV characters but I think this particular brand chose respectable characters on a very worthy product. The water comes from the hills of Kent so for those of you who are into food miles that's probably a good thing. I think we should really encourage our children to chose water over other drinks, and promote its benefits to them. To be honest I need to do this more myself as Little D usually drinks fresh fruit juice (not from concentrate and with no additives, mixed with water), whereas I myself mostly drink water. Insha’Allah now that he has this enthusiasm I can start giving him water more often until fruit juice becomes a once in a while treat!

You can find out more about 'Silver Spring' who sell this water on their website here.

(I was given these three bottles of Spring water free of charge for the purpose of review, but i genuinely believe that they are a refreshing - pardon the pun! - product which i would and probably will buy again)

Passing time...

2011-08-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

The days are long over here at the moment, there's not much sleep happening in between each cycle of day and night, but i am persevering with patience.

Toys become intense projects in which to focus the mind and hopefully while away some of my time.

Then this happens...

And we start all over again.

I found a very beautiful Ramadhan post here on one of my favorite blogs. The comments section makes for interesting reading too.

{This Moment}

2011-08-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.Inspired by Amanda at Soulemama.

Ramadhan...

2011-08-08T14:34:00.001-07:00

On the 1st of this month Ramadhan started so we have a whole month of fasting from sunrise to sunset (about 19 hours per day), many more hours of extra prayers each day, and general tiredness to contend with. Its a month which i love and benefit from but its also a month which tests my faith, and my patience.

Most of you may know Ramadhan as the month of fasting so that we can feel the hunger of the poor and thus appreciate our blessings. Really this is just one small aspect of the month. The month is a chance for us to put aside our basic and worldly needs and turn our attentions to God, acknowledging that none besides him can provide for us. We increase our good deeds as God revealed that our good actions are rewarded tenfold in this month. We spend much more in charity and try to eat with friends and family more - sharing our food.

Fasting is exclusively for God: He states, "Fasting is for me and i shall give its reward. And good is rewarded with ten times its like." (Al-Bukhari)

"It is the month of patience; and of patience, its reward is Paradise. It is a month of consoling, and it is the month wherein a believers sustenance is increased" (Ibn Khuzaymah, Al-Bayhaqi)

Despite the difference in lifestyle during Ramadhan, it really does feel enjoyable. There is such community spirit, and i really feel like i improve on my relationship with God. The tiredness is hard for me and sometimes (such as today) i really feel sorry for myself and get rather miserable but then i am reminded of my blessings and that i have food in the kitchen waiting for me when others do not, and its uplifting. I feel so thankful!

So i guess what im trying to say is that blogging will be rather erratic for me this August! I will still be here and have 3 product reviews coming up too, but i think i will be otherwise focusing on more photos and less words, or sharing a few interesting links with you insha'Allah.

But for me, right now, bedtime!

(Photos are from my garden right now)

{This Moment}

2011-08-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.Inspired by Amanda at Soulemama

A handmade gift from a blogging friend...

2011-08-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have been blogging for about four years now (i had a different blog before this one) and right at the start i came across a blog called 'Much ado about something' (Now called 'Come away with me') written by Sara, in the USA. Hers is one of the first blogs i ever commented on and she was most probably one of the first people to ever comment on mine. Since then we have commented and emailed plenty of times and i would certainly call her a friend even though we have never met.

The post man recently gave me a very pretty package all the way from America, it contained these wonderful hand made gifts from Sara and really put a spring in my step - it was such a delight to receive! Ive now hung my pretty denim heart opposite my seat at the dining room table so that i can see it every day, and my bookmark has been added to my collection on the bookcase, ready for when i start a new book.

I really am so touched by what Sara sent and by the fact that blogging has led to a friendship which would never have occured otherwise. Blogging really does have its benefits!

{This Moment}

2011-07-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by Amanda at Soulemama

Mini farmer...

2011-07-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

I love his enthusiasm so much, its so pleasing to teach someone right from the very start that our food can come from the garden rather than the supermarket. We are nowhere near being able to grow enough to eat our own produce every day, but its so fulfilling to eat perhaps one meal every few weeks where we have grown part of it ourselves amongst the grass and the weeds out back. I also teach him that we are in a very privileged little bubble (alhamdulillah) and that the wider world is not as fortunate, i want him to always remember that and thank God every day for what we have.

Strawberry and chocolate muffins...

2011-07-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Little D and me made strawberry and chocolate muffins together yesterday. He helped with collecting the ingredients, measuring them, mixing, pouring, and of course eating. We had such a lovely morning together alhamdulillah, i love that we can start doing more things together now that he is getting more grown up.

I followed a basic muffin recipe which can be used for all muffins - just alter the flavoured ingredient, which in this case was strawberries and chocolate.

INGREDIENTS... (makes about 12)

150g of flavoured ingredient

280g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

115g caster sugar

2 medium eggs

250ml single cream (we used 220ml milk with about 3 heaped tbsp of Greek yoghurt as we didn't have any cream in the house)

6tbsp oil or 85g of melted, cooled butter

1tsp vanilla extract

METHOD...

Preheat oven to 200c / 400f / gas 6 and line a muffin tin with cases

Chop flavoured ingredient

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl

Stir in sugar and flavoured ingredient

Lightly beat eggs in a jug then add single cream, oil and vanilla extract

Make a well in the dry ingredients then pour egg mixture in

Stir until just combined, don't over mix

Spoon into muffin cases and bake for 20mins until well risen, golden and firm

Leave in tin for 5 mins then cool on a rack

Share with friends and family!

I took 6 to my MIL and her husband who live just down the road and we ate the rest yesterday and this morning. They were so easy to eat one after the other, that has its pro's and con's!